A Bronx, New York, cab driver with big money woes swiped his buddy's winning $50,000 Powerball ticket — then tried to pass it off as his own, authorities said Tuesday.
Segura Rubelin's pal Victor Castillo didn't win the $1.5 billion jackpot that sent the nation into a fever pitch two weeks ago.
But the fortunate friend knew he had won enough money to tide him over for a while — until he said the man who was like a brother to him snatched the ticket out of his hand.
And if that wasn't enough, the backstabbing lottery larcener dashed off with Castillo's winning ticket to the bodega where it was purchased and came back with another winning ticket — one worth a mere $4.
"He was my friend, but he is no longer," Castillo, 66, said through an interpreter. "We were like brothers. He betrayed me. I'm still in shock."
Castillo, who also drives a cab, joined Rubelin and other drivers at a Bronx diner Jan. 14 — the day after the historic Powerball drawing — to check the winning numbers.
"When I got three, I said I was winning," Castillo said. "He snatched it from my hand and ran to the bodega. He came back and threw me a ticket that only won $4. I knew the numbers I played. I knew I won."
So did the bodega workers. They got it all on video — and shared the evidence with cops.
"We saw everything on the videotape," said Wagner Cruceta, manager of La Fuerza, the Bronx bodega where the $50,000 ticket was purchased. "Victor bought the ticket. The other guy came to check it but left. It was not nice."
After Rubelin, 40, left the diner, Castillo tried to track him down at his mother's house, where Rubelin had been staying.
"He never came home," recalled Castillo, who said he had a receipt to prove he purchased the ticket. "Then I called the cops."
Following an investigation, Rubelin was arrested Tuesday and charged with grand larceny.
Rubelin's relatives said he was behind on rent he was paying for a Washington Heights apartment, where three of his kids live with their mother and grandmother.
"We've been waiting on him to pay the rent we owe," said the kids' grandmother Segunda Paduani, 65. "If he would have had the money, he would have paid it. He's always helped with the rent."
Rubelin also has another 10-year-old boy that lives with him in the Bronx.
"He would normally pay the rent on time, but sometimes he would be late," Paduani said.
But Rubelin told his mother, Delfina Felix, 66, that Castillo owed him money — and that he told him that instead of paying him back, he should buy lottery tickets for both of them.
"He's not a thief," Felix said. "He's an honest man."
But Rubelin, who was released on his own recognizance at his arraignment late Tuesday, had made plans to flee to the Dominican Republic, according to a criminal complaint.
"It was both our ticket," Rubelin told The News after he was set free. "I only went to the store to check the numbers. I was going to split it 50-50 with him."
A state lottery spokeswoman, Carolyn Hapeman, declined to comment because the investigation is ongoing. She cautioned lottery players to be careful with their tickets.
"We encourage people to sign the tickets upon receipt," she said.
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Don't tell anyone...at least wait til the $ is in your bank account !
That's not good
LOL you cant fix stupid
It boils down to: Trust No One!
Money is the root of all evil, but I wouldn't mind having more of it!
NY values? Money the root of evil? Greed is universal? 50K is enough to motivate?
Silence is key
so did Mr. Castillo get the ticket back and cash it in for the winnings 
avaritia facit homines stupidos
Greed makes people stupid.....
Fortes Fortuna Juvat
Eddessa_Knight
I'd say Adios to that 'friend' (fiend) too. Best thing to do is sign it. On to those folks from TN who flashed that 1/3 of the $1.6 billion ticket on TV. Imagine if it had fallen into a toilet or somehow got lost? That's why safety deposit boxes are made for. It made me cringe.
The opening paragraphs are a little confusing. It made sense when I saw the photos.
One of the many cardinal rules of lottery play is, "Be quiet" "Do not tell anyone"
Sign the ticket. and more
Most of the comments on this article are basically that he should not have said anything until he collected the money, but if you read the article, you would have seen the same thing I did.
"Castillo, who also drives a cab, joined Rubelin and other drivers at a Bronx diner Jan. 14 — the day after the historic Powerball drawing — to check the winning numbers."
"When I got three, I said I was winning," Castillo said. "He snatched it from my hand and ran to the bodega. He came back and threw me a ticket that only won $4. I knew the numbers I played. I knew I won."
They were together at the diner when Rubelin grabbed the ticket out of Castillo's hand after Castillo announced he has won.
If you were with other people (checking the winning numbers) and saw that you won, could you not show any emotion or say that you won?
Thank You TheMeatman2005 for your help. Following rules is difficult sometime. The rules are there to help.
This. Trust no one.
Good for the old man.
Maybe don't check your potential billion dollar winning tickets at the table with a whole bunch of people, maybe do it at home or in private?
I read about this earlier - what a great "friend"!
What kind of friend that would swipe a winning Powerball ticket from another friend? To find out if your friend is a real friend, do this experiment, next time there is another winner in the Mega Millions or Powerball game, purchase some lottery tickets with those winning numbers mixed in with a few other numbers to make it look real and show your friend those winning numbers! Make sure you have your hand over the date of that ticket and show him real quick the back of that ticket, to show him that you didn't sign it! You should know real quick if he his your friend!
He snatched the ticket and ran, yikes.
Glad the rightful owner got his justice.
I agree Sully...and did the original guy get his money?
I'm sure Todd will have an update to this story about who got the money. On a sidenote has anyone noticed that since the $1.6 Billion jackpot Powerball has upped the ante. The jackpot increases faster now than it had in the past, so once again mea culpa.
Yep the jackpot is increasing at the rate it used to years ago. That could mean another billion dollar jackpot in early March?
didn't it take like 20 drawings to get up there? Seems like April would be more like it. IF the states that want in get in some YEAR then it should go up even faster. Wagers are on that AL, AK, HI and MS will not get in on any lottery, let alone nationwide lotteries.
Be careful who we consider a real friend.
Now Victor knows he is not a friend.
Actually took 19 draws. But this current run hit 60m cash in 4 draws, while that last one took 6 draws to get to that amount. So we're on track to hit that billion dollar mark by mid March at the latest.
Thanks for keeping LP members like me abreast. You know with all the lotteries out there and me playing in KY and MA it gets hard to keep up sometimes. When I win I'll say goodbye to 12 hour shifts, they kick butt and don't take names!!
fortunately everything was caught on video tape and was witnessed in front of others...otherwise, this could have easily been a he said she said situation and not turned out in favor of the real winner. Goes to show either sign your tickets or keep your tickets safe from others.
How hard can it be? It only take a few seconds to sign the back of these tickets. Good it was on video for his sake. He said , she said don't work here.
"Money is not the root of all evil the lack of it is." -Gene Simmons.
If he would have simply signed the ticket before or after he knew he won. This wouldn't have happened. Flashing an unsigned winning lottery ticket to anyone is as crazy as walking around with money in your hand expecting nothing to happen.
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
The 19 vs 20 is probably just semantics. There were 19 rolls before it was hit on the 20th drawing. If the current run has a progression that matches the last one from here on, and it doesn't get hit, we'd see the 1.5 billion figure on 3/16. Of course it still has to beat the odds for that to happen